# くるわ
## Japanese

* Alternative spellings
* 曲輪 郭 廓

### Etymology

Compound of くる (kuru, “going around”, consider adverbs くるくる (kurukuru), くるり (kururi, “spinningly; turningly”), verb 繰る (kuru, “to spin, to wind (a thread); to turn (a page)”)) +‎ わ (wa, “loop? enclosure?”, the same element appearing in other words in kanji as 曲・回 (“sharp bend, loop, or bight, as in a river or coastline”), and as 輪・環 (“a ring, a loop; a hoop (as for a barrel); a circle, a round; a wheel”)), referring to a wall, palisade, moat (often dry), or natural waterway surrounding a castle or other fortification.
First appears in the late 1500s in reference to such a wall or moat. Later used to refer to the area bounded by such a feature, and then used periphrastically to refer to a red-light district, which was usually divided from the rest of a town by such a wall or fence.

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) くるわ [kùrúwá] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [kɯ̟ɾɯ̟β̞a̠]

### Noun

くるわ • (kuruwa)
* [from late 1500s] a palisade, wall, moat, natural waterway, or other structure used to divide a specific area from its surroundings, such as a castle or fort
    Synonym: 囲い (kakoi, “enclosure” in general)
* [probably from early 1600s] the area so bounded by such a structure
* [from 1678] a red-light district, specifically one that is divided from the rest of the town by means of a wall or fence or similar structure
    Synonyms: 遊郭 (yūkaku), 遊里 (yūri, in general, regardless of any wall)
* [from 1698] (poetry, haiku) in 俳諧 (haikai, “vulgar haiku”), the general realm of subject matter used for the opening line

#### Derived terms

* 郭(くるわ)通(がよ)い (kuruwa-gayoi, “frequently visiting a red-light district”)
* 郭詞, 郭言葉(くるわことば) (kuruwa kotoba, “the argot of the red-light districts during the Edo period”)
* 郭(くるわ)沙汰(ざた) (kuruwa-zata, “the rumors and stories of the red-light district”)
* 郭(くるわ)三界(さんがい) (kuruwa sangai, “the area or neighborhood of a red-light district”)
* 郭(くるわ)住(ず)まい (kuruwa-zumai, “residing in a red-light district; the lifestyle of a prostitute”)
* 郭(くるわ)勤(づと)め (kuruwa-zutome, “working in a red-light district; someone working in a red-light district, more specifically as a prostitute”)
* 郭者(くるわもの) (kuruwamono, “someone working in a red-light district”)
* 郭(くるわ)模様(もよう) (kuruwa moyō, “the fashionable patterns of clothing popular in the red-light district”)
* 郭(くるわ)様(よう) (kuruwa yō, “the manners and customs of the red-light district”)

### References

* 1 2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 “郭”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
* ↑ “曲輪”, in 改訂新版 世界大百科事典 (Kaitei Shinpan Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Revised Edition”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 2007, →ISBN
* ↑ “曲輪”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
* 1 2 “曲輪”, in ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典 (Buritanika Kokusai Dai Hyakka Jiten: Shō Kōmoku Jiten, “Encyclopædia Britannica International: Micropædia”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Britannica Japan Co., Ltd., 2014
* 1 2 3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 “郭・廓・曲輪”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006